Chapter 1: 5 Years After the Wolves Joined
As the Tribe migrated north to south, and then south to north each year, they had agreed to meet with other groups at certain locations for trade and mixing.
With the exception of the Others in the north, the groups would share an encampment briefly, and usually young men and women would leave or come to the Tribe.
Indeed, many of the people were reuniting with family members; the groups were literally related.
The Tribe (now called "the Wolf People") were expecting to meet with a smaller group which typically brought dried fruits, salt, and a particular type of wood which the Wolf People preferred for their spears, throwers, and other carved tools.
This year, they planned to give these people four of their puppies.
It was not to happen. The dogs (they couldn't call these freinds and allies wolves any more) began growling as they neared the meeting place. Something was wrong.
The men practiced warcraft from childhood, and spread out, moving ahead of the women, children, and elders with the dogs, which, having been trained (sometimes brutally), stayed with them, quietly, rather than plunging ahead, as their instincts dictated.
Soon the warriors smelled what the dogs had smelled. Death. There was probably no imminant threat, but they were still cautious.
The other group had been massacred not long ago.
Sisters, brothers, sons, daugters, parents and freinds fell to their knees and wept over loved ones.
The normally complacent Spinner paced about, fuming. No one dared speak to him. Some people vomited; the stench was overpowering, and the vomit only made it worse.
Finds Tracks and Sees More circled the area slowly, in silence, and returned to Spinner, who stood staring at the dead campfire with dead eyes.
"They killed the fighting males, the old, and the very young", Sees More reported, calmly.
"Including babies." Finds Tracks snarled.
"We think..." Sees More glanced at Finds Tracks, "...there might have been up to twice as many warriors as we have." Finds Tracks nodded, and said "Possibly more."
Sees More saw Log Pusher approaching, rage and determination etched on his face, and accompanied by his two cronies, and almost groaned.
Finds Tracks literally growled "Just what we need", and positioned himself between his brother and Spinner.
Log Pusher resented not having been named Chief, and had often been adversarial with Spinner and his freinds. Now, Sees More and Finds Tracks heard his words before they were spoken:
"We have to find these animals and kill them all!"
"Hold, Log-Pusher!" Spinner replied. "We have to think about this before we act, as your father always did."
"Are you a woman? There is only one answer for this atrocity!"
"There are twice as many of them, and they are five days gone!" Finds Tracks shouted back, dropping his spear and thrower (the message was clear: He was ready to fight.)
"You will he heard!" Spinner said, stepping forward and nudging the much bigger Finds Tracks aside gently. "But we must learn more, and use our brains here. A mistake could kill us all."
"Calm down." Sees More interjected, putting a hand on Log Pusher's huge shoulder.
Log Pusher spun his arm to brush Sees More's hand away, but said nothing.
"We are as outraged as you by this." Finds Tracks growled to his brother.
"And we will kill these monsters, once we can without endangering the Tribe." Spinner added, drawing glances from Sees More and Finds Tracks.
"Your brother and Sees More were telling me about our enemies. You can listen, but don't interfere. I share your outrage, and will hear you later."
For a long, tense moment, Log-Pusher glared into Spinner's eyes, still fuming. At last, he nodded, and said "I want to hear this."
Spinner nodded to Sees More, who resumed his report calmly:
"Most of the young women and adolescent boys are not among the dead here. We found several fighting men who must have been the attackers."
"Our cousins fought bravely, but were overwhelmed", Finds Tracks added.
"They apparently spare the younger boys, to turn them into warriors", Sees More continued. "They must treat them well, I think...they can convince them that...that...I can't find the words, but it's the same thing we did with the wolf pups.
"If you or I had been taken that young, we could have been their warriors today.
"The females have it worse. And their boys will become warriors too."
"We have to stop them!" Log-Pusher blurted. "They get stronger and stronger while we dither! We have to track them down and wipe out their warriors now! We can save those females and boys and end this if we move quickly!"
"You. Will. Be. Heard. Later.", Spinner replied, calmly and quietly, but with unmistakable menace. He nodded to Sees More again.
"It's rained here recently. We have no trail to follow. They could be anywhere now."
Spinner leaned toward Log Pusher with a cocked eyebrow, staring up into the big man's eyes, but saying nothing.
"They left their dead where they fell. They raped most of the females they killed, and some of the boys too.
"They don't think like us. They simply take all they can by force, and have no regard for human life."
"Animals!" Log Pusher snarled.
"Worse.", Sees More replied with a solemn nod.
"Trying to track them down after the rains and five days later would be futile.", said Spinner, still staring back at Log Pusher, whose glare had lost most of it's heat.
"We can't leave our vulnerable people unprotected. Even if we had a trail to follow, we can't move any faster than the slowest of these."
"We must be ready to destroy these monsters when we find them, but for now can do nothing." said Finds Tracks sadly.
"We need better weapons", Sees More muttered, with a far away look in his eyes.
"We need to be smarter, and better trained.", Spinner replied.
"We need to kill them all.", Log Pusher concluded, with a reluctant nod to Spinner.
The Wolf People left the area immediately, leaving the dead where they lay.
A few days later, as they walked together, Spinner spoke to Sees More:
"We can't defeat these people unless we outsmart them. And we will have to attack them, rather than defend a camp."
Sees More nodded. "I'll find better weapons. We should be able to train the dogs better."
After a few more minutes of companionable silence, Spinner said "Thank you for the dogs."
A few minutes later, Sees More said "You aint seen nothing yet."
With the exception of the Others in the north, the groups would share an encampment briefly, and usually young men and women would leave or come to the Tribe.
Indeed, many of the people were reuniting with family members; the groups were literally related.
The Tribe (now called "the Wolf People") were expecting to meet with a smaller group which typically brought dried fruits, salt, and a particular type of wood which the Wolf People preferred for their spears, throwers, and other carved tools.
This year, they planned to give these people four of their puppies.
It was not to happen. The dogs (they couldn't call these freinds and allies wolves any more) began growling as they neared the meeting place. Something was wrong.
The men practiced warcraft from childhood, and spread out, moving ahead of the women, children, and elders with the dogs, which, having been trained (sometimes brutally), stayed with them, quietly, rather than plunging ahead, as their instincts dictated.
Soon the warriors smelled what the dogs had smelled. Death. There was probably no imminant threat, but they were still cautious.
The other group had been massacred not long ago.
Sisters, brothers, sons, daugters, parents and freinds fell to their knees and wept over loved ones.
The normally complacent Spinner paced about, fuming. No one dared speak to him. Some people vomited; the stench was overpowering, and the vomit only made it worse.
Finds Tracks and Sees More circled the area slowly, in silence, and returned to Spinner, who stood staring at the dead campfire with dead eyes.
"They killed the fighting males, the old, and the very young", Sees More reported, calmly.
"Including babies." Finds Tracks snarled.
"We think..." Sees More glanced at Finds Tracks, "...there might have been up to twice as many warriors as we have." Finds Tracks nodded, and said "Possibly more."
Sees More saw Log Pusher approaching, rage and determination etched on his face, and accompanied by his two cronies, and almost groaned.
Finds Tracks literally growled "Just what we need", and positioned himself between his brother and Spinner.
Log Pusher resented not having been named Chief, and had often been adversarial with Spinner and his freinds. Now, Sees More and Finds Tracks heard his words before they were spoken:
"We have to find these animals and kill them all!"
"Hold, Log-Pusher!" Spinner replied. "We have to think about this before we act, as your father always did."
"Are you a woman? There is only one answer for this atrocity!"
"There are twice as many of them, and they are five days gone!" Finds Tracks shouted back, dropping his spear and thrower (the message was clear: He was ready to fight.)
"You will he heard!" Spinner said, stepping forward and nudging the much bigger Finds Tracks aside gently. "But we must learn more, and use our brains here. A mistake could kill us all."
"Calm down." Sees More interjected, putting a hand on Log Pusher's huge shoulder.
Log Pusher spun his arm to brush Sees More's hand away, but said nothing.
"We are as outraged as you by this." Finds Tracks growled to his brother.
"And we will kill these monsters, once we can without endangering the Tribe." Spinner added, drawing glances from Sees More and Finds Tracks.
"Your brother and Sees More were telling me about our enemies. You can listen, but don't interfere. I share your outrage, and will hear you later."
For a long, tense moment, Log-Pusher glared into Spinner's eyes, still fuming. At last, he nodded, and said "I want to hear this."
Spinner nodded to Sees More, who resumed his report calmly:
"Most of the young women and adolescent boys are not among the dead here. We found several fighting men who must have been the attackers."
"Our cousins fought bravely, but were overwhelmed", Finds Tracks added.
"They apparently spare the younger boys, to turn them into warriors", Sees More continued. "They must treat them well, I think...they can convince them that...that...I can't find the words, but it's the same thing we did with the wolf pups.
"If you or I had been taken that young, we could have been their warriors today.
"The females have it worse. And their boys will become warriors too."
"We have to stop them!" Log-Pusher blurted. "They get stronger and stronger while we dither! We have to track them down and wipe out their warriors now! We can save those females and boys and end this if we move quickly!"
"You. Will. Be. Heard. Later.", Spinner replied, calmly and quietly, but with unmistakable menace. He nodded to Sees More again.
"It's rained here recently. We have no trail to follow. They could be anywhere now."
Spinner leaned toward Log Pusher with a cocked eyebrow, staring up into the big man's eyes, but saying nothing.
"They left their dead where they fell. They raped most of the females they killed, and some of the boys too.
"They don't think like us. They simply take all they can by force, and have no regard for human life."
"Animals!" Log Pusher snarled.
"Worse.", Sees More replied with a solemn nod.
"Trying to track them down after the rains and five days later would be futile.", said Spinner, still staring back at Log Pusher, whose glare had lost most of it's heat.
"We can't leave our vulnerable people unprotected. Even if we had a trail to follow, we can't move any faster than the slowest of these."
"We must be ready to destroy these monsters when we find them, but for now can do nothing." said Finds Tracks sadly.
"We need better weapons", Sees More muttered, with a far away look in his eyes.
"We need to be smarter, and better trained.", Spinner replied.
"We need to kill them all.", Log Pusher concluded, with a reluctant nod to Spinner.
The Wolf People left the area immediately, leaving the dead where they lay.
A few days later, as they walked together, Spinner spoke to Sees More:
"We can't defeat these people unless we outsmart them. And we will have to attack them, rather than defend a camp."
Sees More nodded. "I'll find better weapons. We should be able to train the dogs better."
After a few more minutes of companionable silence, Spinner said "Thank you for the dogs."
A few minutes later, Sees More said "You aint seen nothing yet."
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